Stock Market & Financial Investment News

On The Fly: Closing WrapStocks on Wall Street were higher after U.S. retail sales for March surprised to the upside. The averages spent much of the session higher before losing altitude during the afternoon, with the Nasdaq even turning negative near 3:00 pm ET. An aggressive rally took hold in the final 30 minutes of trade, with the indexes closing just off their best levels of the day. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., retail sales climbed 1.1% in March, beating expectations for an increase of 0.8%. Retail sales excluding autos rose 0.7%, which also beat estimates. Business inventories grew 0.4% in February, versus the consensus forecast for a 0.5% gain. In Europe, industrial production across the 18 country shared currency bloc rose by 0.2% in February from the prior month and by 1.7% from the same month of the prior year. COMPANY NEWS: Citigroup (C) gained $1.99, or 4.36%, to $47.67 after its adjusted first quarter earnings easily beat the consensus forecast. CEO Michael Corbat said the company delivered strong results despite a quarter "that was difficult," which included the bank surprisingly having its capital plan rejected by the Federal Reserve and the disclosure of fraud in its Mexican unit... Twitter (TWTR) shares held up better than they have in recent sessions after its co-founders, Jack Dorsey and Evan Williams, along with CEO Richard Costolo, disclosed that they have no plans to sell any of their shares as part of the May 5 lockup expiration... Edwards Lifesciences (EW) gained $8.03, or 11.0%, to $81.00 after being granted a preliminary injunction limiting the sale of Medtronic's (MDT) CoreValve system in the U.S. due to patent infringement. The ruling triggered upgrades of Edwards' shares from at least two analyst firms. Medtronic, which received at least one downgrade following the news, slipped $1.12, or 1.89%, to $58.08. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Goodrich Petroleum (GDP), which surged $5.56, or 30.22%, to $23.96 after the company reported strong results for a well it drilled in Louisiana. Also higher was Akebia (AKBA), which rose $4.28, or 25.39%, to $21.14 after no fewer than four analyst firms initiated coverage on the shares with a Buy or equivalent rating. Among the noteworthy losers was NQ Mobile (NQ), which fell another $1.65, or 12.99%, to $11.05, adding to the 20% decline it suffered Friday after the company disclosed accounting errors along with its mixed earnings report. Short-seller Muddy Waters, which revealed a public short position on NQ in October, released a report today saying NQ's disappointing quarter was driven by heightened auditor scrutiny. Also lower Retrophin (RTRX), which dropped $2.35, or 15.3%, to $13.01 despite raising its fiscal 2014 revenue view after announcing that the FDA is unwilling to grant expedited access for children to the company's RE-024 treatment. INDEXES: The Dow was up 146.49, or 0.91%, to 16,173.24, the Nasdaq was up 22.96, or 0.57%, to 4,022.69, and the S&P 500 was up 14.92, or 0.82%, to 1,830.61.

UC Berkeley Haas School of Business to hold a discussionGabriel Stricker, Chief Communications Officer of Twitter, holds a discussion, "Twitter and Free Speech" in Berkeley, California on February 18 at 3:30 pm. Webcast Link

Citi announces $100b, 10-year commitment to finance sustainable growthCiti announced a landmark commitment to lend, invest and facilitate a total of $100B within the next 10 years to finance activities that reduce the impacts of climate change and create environmental solutions that benefit people and communities. Citiís previous $50B goal was announced in 2007 and was met three years early in 2013. With this $100B initiative, Citi will build on its leadership in renewable energy and energy efficiency financing to engage with clients to identify opportunities to finance greenhouse gas reductions and resource efficiency in other sectors, such as sustainable transportation.